System-in-package cellular assembly

ABSTRACT

A system-in-package cellular assembly is disclosed. The assembly may include a main board including a multi-layer printed circuit board. The main board may include one or more through holes and be detachably connectable to an end-product via the one or more through holes and one or more connecting members. The main board may be reversibly, electrically couplable to the end-product via the one or more through holes and the one or more connecting members. The assembly may include an add-on board including one or more through holes and be detachably connectable to the main board via one or more connectors. The add-on board may be reversibly, electrically couplable to the main board via one or more main board surface mount connectors and one or more add-on board surface mount connectors. The add-on board may include at least one of one or more sensors or one or more sensor through holes.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present disclosure constitutes a continuation application of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 17/154,973, filed Jan. 21, 2021, which is aregular (non-provisional) patent application of U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 62/963,745, filed Jan. 21, 2020, whereby each ofthe above-listed patent applications is incorporated herein by referencein their entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a system-in-package cellular assemblyto enable rapid development, prototyping, and reduced time to market.

BACKGROUND

Machine-to-machine (M2M) communications facilitate remote monitoring ofdevices in a variety of applications and industries. M2M communicationdevices remain relatively expensive and typically require ample time todevelop and get to the market. Additionally, current M2M communicationdevices may be difficult to customize and may not be designed to beintegrated with the latest standards of technology.

Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a system which cures one ormore of the shortfalls of previous approaches identified above.

SUMMARY

A system-in-package cellular assembly is disclosed, in accordance withone or more embodiments of the present disclosure. In one embodiment,the system-in-package cellular assembly includes a main board includinga multi-layer printed circuit board. In another embodiment, the mainboard includes one or more main board through holes. In anotherembodiment, the main board is detachably connectable to an end-productvia the one or more main board through holes and one or more end-productconnecting members. In another embodiment, the main board is reversibly,electrically couplable to the end-product via the one or more main boardthrough holes and the one or more end-product connecting members. Inanother embodiment, the main board includes a system-in-package deviceconfigured to provide connectivity for the end-product. In anotherembodiment, the main board includes one or more soldered nuts. Inanother embodiment, the main board includes one or more main boardsurface mount connectors. In another embodiment, the system-in-packagecellular assembly includes an add-on board including one or more add-onboard through holes. In another embodiment, the add-on board isdetachably connectable to the main board via one or more connectorsconfigured to couple to the one or more soldered nuts of the main board.In another embodiment, the one or more add-on board through holes areconfigured to receive the one or more connectors. In another embodiment,the add-on board is reversibly, electrically couplable to the main boardvia one or more add-on board surface mount connectors configured tocouple to the one or more main board surface mount connectors. Inanother embodiment, the add-on board includes at least one of one ormore sensors or one or more sensor through holes configured to couple toone or more additional sensors.

A main board assembly is disclosed, in accordance with one or moreembodiments of the present disclosure. In one embodiment, the main boardassembly includes a multi-layer printed circuit board. In anotherembodiment, the main board assembly includes one or more through holesconfigured to receive one or more end-product connecting members. Inanother embodiment, the main board assembly includes a system-in-packagedevice configured to provide connectivity for an end-product. In anotherembodiment, the main board assembly includes one or more soldered nuts.In another embodiment, the main board assembly includes one or moresurface mount connectors.

An add-on board assembly is disclosed, in accordance with one or moreembodiments of the present disclosure. In one embodiment, the add-onboard assembly includes one or more coupling assemblies. In anotherembodiment, the add-on board assembly includes one or more surface mountconnectors. In another embodiment, the add-on board assembly includes atleast one of one or more sensors or one or more sensor through holesconfigured to couple to one or more additional sensors.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory onlyand are not necessarily restrictive of the invention as claimed. Theaccompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a partof the specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention andtogether with the general description, serve to explain the principlesof the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The numerous advantages of the disclosure may be better understood bythose skilled in the art by reference to the accompanying figures inwhich:

FIG. 1 illustrates a bottom perspective view of a system-in-package(SiP) cellular assembly, in accordance with one or more embodiments ofthe present disclosure.

FIG. 2 illustrates a bottom view of the SiP cellular assembly, inaccordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 illustrates a top view of the SiP cellular assembly, inaccordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 illustrates a side view of the SiP cellular assembly, inaccordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 illustrates an exploded rear view of the SiP cellular assembly,in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 illustrates a top view of a main board of the SiP cellularassembly, in accordance with one or more embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 7 illustrates a bottom view of the main board of the SiP cellularassembly, in accordance with one or more embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 8 illustrates a bottom perspective view of the main board of theSiP cellular assembly, in accordance with one or more embodiments of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 9 illustrates a top perspective view of the add-on board of the SiPcellular assembly, in accordance with one or more embodiments of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 10 illustrates a bottom view of the add-on board of the SiPcellular assembly, in accordance with one or more embodiments of thepresent disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure has been particularly shown and described withrespect to certain embodiments and specific features thereof. Theembodiments set forth herein are taken to be illustrative rather thanlimiting. It should be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill inthe art that various changes and modifications in form and detail may bemade without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure.

The present disclosure relates to a system-in-package (SiP) cellularassembly for use in an end-product (e.g., agriculture, gas and oil,building management, healthcare/medical devices, vending machines,dispensing machines, asset tracking, environmental sensing, animalhealth, payment processing, artificial intelligence (AI), computervision (CV), weather monitoring, sound monitoring, industrialmonitoring, inventory control, or the like). For example, the SiPcellular assembly may be used in an agricultural end-product to measurefarm sensors. By way of another example, the SiP cellular assembly maybe used in a gas and oil end-product to measure gas and oil machineinformation such as, but not limited to, speed of a drill, heat of adrill, or the like. By way of another example, the SiP cellular assemblymay be used in a gas and oil end-product to control one or morecomponents of the gas and oil machine end-product such as turning ongas/oil drilling rigs, or the like. By way of another example, the SiPcellular assembly may be used in a building management end-product tomeasure temperature, humidity, containment levels, and the like. By wayof another example, the SiP cellular assembly may be used in a buildingmanagement end-product to control one or more components of the buildingmanagement end-product such as turning on a fan in the building, or thelike. By way of another example, the SiP cellular assembly may be usedin healthcare/medical devices to measure healthcare/medical data. By wayof another example, the SiP cellular assembly may be used in vendingmachines to measure vending machine levels, money levels, or detectproblems. By way of another example, the SiP cellular assembly may beused in dispensing machines (e.g., soap dispensers) to measureliquid/gel levels and obtain usage information.

Embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to a SiP cellularassembly to enable rapid prototyping, development, and decreased time tomarket. Embodiments of the present disclosure are also directed to a SiPcellular assembly that requires low power. Embodiments of the presentdisclosure are also directed to a SiP cellular assembly that includes acustomizable add-on board including one or more sensors. The add-onboard may be developed rapidly to enable decreased time to market andrapid prototyping. It is noted herein that the term “system-in-package”or “SiP” refers to one or more integrated circuits enclosed in a singlechip carrier package.

Reference will now be made in detail to the subject matter disclosed,which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

Referring generally to FIGS. 1-10 , a system-in-package (SiP) cellularassembly 100 is described, in accordance with one or more embodiments ofthe present disclosure.

FIGS. 1-5 illustrate the SiP cellular assembly 100, in accordance withone or more embodiments of the present disclosure. In particular, FIG. 1illustrates a bottom perspective view of the SiP cellular assembly 100,in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. Inparticular, FIG. 2 illustrates a bottom view of the SiP cellularassembly 100, in accordance with one or more embodiments of the presentdisclosure. In particular, FIG. 3 illustrates a top view of the SiPcellular assembly 100, in accordance with one or more embodiments of thepresent disclosure. In particular, FIG. 4 illustrates a side view of theSiP cellular assembly 100, in accordance with one or more embodiments ofthe present disclosure. In particular, FIG. 5 illustrates an explodedrear view of the SiP cellular assembly 100, in accordance with one ormore embodiments of the present disclosure.

In one embodiment, a SiP cellular assembly 100 may include, but is notlimited to, a main board 102 and an add-on board 104. In anotherembodiment, the main board 102 is configured to provide at leastprocessing and connectivity capabilities for an end-product. In anotherembodiment, the add-on board 104 is configured to interface with thephysical world to sense various parameters and provide variousmeasurements of the end-product.

In another embodiment, the add-on board 104 is configured to reversibly,electrically couple to a portion of the main board 102. For example, asdiscussed further herein, the main board 102 may include one or moremain board surface mount connectors 134 configured to receive one ormore add-on board surface mount connectors 136 of the add-on board 104.In another embodiment, the add-on board 104 is configured to detachablyconnect to a portion of the main board 102. For example, as discussedfurther herein, the main board 102 may include one or more soldered nuts124 configured to couple to one or more connectors 138 of the add-onboard 104. In this regard, the add-on board 104 may include one or morethrough holes 132 configured to receive the one or more connectors 138.

FIGS. 6-8 illustrate the main board 102 of the SiP cellular assembly100, in accordance with one or more embodiments of the presentdisclosure. In particular, FIG. 6 illustrates a top view of the mainboard 102 of the SiP cellular assembly 100, in accordance with one ormore embodiments of the present disclosure. In particular, FIG. 7illustrates a bottom view of the main board 102 of the SiP cellularassembly 100, in accordance with one or more embodiments of the presentdisclosure. In particular, FIG. 8 illustrates a bottom perspective viewof the main board 102 of the SiP cellular assembly 100, in accordancewith one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

In one embodiment, the main board 102 of the SiP cellular assembly 100includes a printed circuit (PC) board 106. In another embodiment, the PCboard 106 is a multi-layer board. For example, the multi-layer PC boardmay include at least four layers. The at least four layers may beelectrically coupled to proximate sub-boards within the multi-layerboard. For instance, the multi-layer PC board may include a silkscreenedand solder-masked top side including a first layer including a circuittopside, a second layer including a ground plane, a third layerincluding a power plane, a fourth layer including a circuit bottom side,and a silkscreened and solder-masked bottom side. The one or more layersmay be formed of a non-semiconductor and/or a semiconductor material.For example, a non-semiconductor or semiconductor material may include,but is not limited to, copper, fiberglass, monocrystalline silicon,gallium arsenide, and indium phosphide. Therefore, the above descriptionshould not be interpreted as a limitation on the scope of the presentdisclosure but merely an illustration.

In another embodiment, the main board 102 includes one or more cellantenna ports 108 arranged on a topside of the main board 102. It isnoted herein that the main board 102 may include any type of cellantenna port. For example, the main board 102 may include a U.FL antennaport configured to couple with a micro antenna cable.

In another embodiment, the main board 102 includes one or more locationantenna ports 110 arranged on a topside of the main board 102. Inanother embodiment, the one or more location antenna ports 110 areconfigured to couple with one or more location systems. For example, theone or more location antenna ports 110 may be configured to couple with,but are not required to couple with, a global positioning system (GPS),a global navigation satellite system (GNSS), a global satellitenavigation system (GLONASS) antenna port, or the like. It is notedherein that the main board 102 may include any type of location antennaport. For example, the main board 102 may include a U.FL antenna portconfigured to couple with a micro antenna cable.

It is noted herein that although FIG. 3 and FIG. 6 depict a singlelocation antenna port 110 (e.g., single GPS port) and a single cellantenna port 108, such depiction is provided merely for illustrativepurposes and shall not limit the scope of the present disclosure. Forexample, the main board 102 may include any number of antenna ports 110,108 configured to couple to any number of port connectors.

In another embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7 , the main board 102 includesone or more subscriber identification module (SIM) card slots 112arranged on a bottom side of the main board 102. The one or more SIMcard slots 112 may include one or more venting holes. In anotherembodiment, the one or more SIM card slots 112 are configured to receiveone or more SIM cards (not shown). The one or more SIM card slots 112may include any type of SIM card slot suitable for receiving any type ofSIM card. For example, the one or more SIM card slots 112 may includeone or more standard SIM card slots configured to receive one orstandard SIM cards. By way of another example, the one or more SIM cardslots 112 may include one or more micro-SIM card slots configured toreceive one or more micro-SIM cards. By way of another example, the oneor more SIM card slots 112 may include one or more nano-SIM card slotsconfigured to receive one or more nano-SIM cards.

In another embodiment, the main board 102 includes one or more embeddedSIM (eSIM) cards 114 arranged on a bottom side of the main board 102.The main board 102 may include any type of eSIM card 114. For example,the main board 102 may include a data only eSIM card 114. By way ofanother example, the main board 102 may include a Voice, StandardMessage Service (SMS), and Data eSIM card 114.

In another embodiment, the main board 102 includes a power regulationdevice 116 configured to monitor the power of one or more components ofthe SiP cellular assembly 100.

In some embodiments, as shown in FIGS. 6-8 , the main board 102 includesa one or more main board through holes 118. In another embodiment, theone or more through holes 118 are plated with an electrically conductivematerial. For example, the or more through holes 118 may be plated withcopper. It is noted herein that although FIGS. 6-8 depict the one ormore through holes 118 as plated through holes, such depiction isprovided merely for illustrative embodiments and shall not limit thescope of the present disclosure. For example, the one or more throughholes 118 may be non-plated through holes. Further, it is noted hereinthat the one or more through holes 118 may be fabricated using anythrough-hole technology (THT) known in the art.

In another embodiment, the one or more through holes 118 are configuredto receive one or more connecting members of an end-product device 119,such that the SiP assembly is detachably connectable to the end-product119 and reversibly, electrically couplable to the end-product 119. Forexample, the one or more through holes 118 may be configured to receiveone or more rows of 10-pin connectors 121. In one instance, a first rowof one or more side connector through holes 118 may be configured toreceive a first row of 10-pin connectors 121. In another instance, asecond row of one or more side connector through holes 118 may beconfigured to receive a second row of 10-pin connectors 121. In thisregard, the SiP cellular assembly 100 is configured for backwardcompatibility, such that the one or more through holes 118 may beconfigured to receive any type of connecting member on any type ofend-product. It is noted herein that the backward compatibility of theSiP cellular assembly 100 allows for interoperability with oldersystems.

It is noted herein that the main board 102 may be configured for anytype of end-product. For example, the end-product may include, but isnot limited to, agriculture, gas and oil, building management,healthcare/medical devices, vending machines, dispensing machines, assettracking, environmental sensing, animal health, payment processing,artificial intelligence (AI), computer vision (CV), weather monitoring,sound monitoring, industrial monitoring, inventory control, or the like.In one instance, the SiP cellular assembly may be used in anagricultural end-product to measure farm sensors. In another instance,the SiP cellular assembly may be used in a gas and oil end-product tomeasure gas and oil machine information such as, but not limited to,speed of a drill, heat of a drill, or the like. In another instance, theSiP cellular assembly may be used in a gas and oil end-product tocontrol one or more components of the gas and oil machine end-productsuch as turning on gas/oil drilling rigs, or the like. In anotherinstance, the SiP cellular assembly may be used in a building managementend-product to measure temperature, humidity, containment levels, andthe like. In another instance, the SiP cellular assembly may be used ina building management end-product to control one or more components ofthe building management end-product such as turning on a fan in thebuilding, or the like. In another instance, the SiP cellular assemblymay be used in healthcare/medical devices to measure healthcare/medicaldata. In another instance, the SiP cellular assembly may be used invending machines to measure vending machine levels, money levels, ordetect problems. In another instance, the SiP cellular assembly may beused in dispensing machines (e.g., soap dispensers) to measureliquid/gel levels and obtain usage information. It is further notedherein that the SiP assembly 100 may be end device certified such thatthe time to market may be reduced.

In another embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6 , the main board 102 includesa system-in-package (SiP) device 120 arranged on a topside of the mainboard 102. The SiP device 120 may include any SiP device known in theart such as, but not limited to, a Nordic Semiconductor nRF9160. Inanother embodiment, the SiP device 120 includes a modem configured toprovide connectivity for the SiP cellular assembly 100. For example, theSiP device 120 may include an LTE-M/NB-IoT modem configured to provideLTE-M/NB-IoT connectivity for the SiP cellular assembly 100. It is notedherein that the SiP cellular assembly 100 is not limited to cellularradios and may include any radio known in the art including, but notlimited to, WiFi, LoRA, BLE, Zigbee, Z-wave, and the like.

In another embodiment, the SiP device 120 includes a controller. Forexample, the SiP device 120 may include a microcontroller unit (MCU). Inanother embodiment, the controller is communicatively coupled to theserver via network. In one embodiment, controller includes one or moreprocessors and memory. The controller may include any processor known inthe art including, but not limited to, a microprocessor. The controllermay include any memory known in the art including, but not limited to, aflash memory or random-access memory (RAM). Therefore, the abovedescription should not be interpreted as a limitation on the scope ofthe present disclosure but merely an illustration.

In another embodiment, the one or more processors of the SiP device 120are configured to communicate with at least one of the one or more SIMcards within the one or more SIM card slots 112 or the one or more eSIMcards 114. In another embodiment, the one or more processors of the SiPdevice 120 are configured to communicate with an end-product.

In another embodiment, the controller includes a network serverconfigured to be used as a data collection point. In another embodiment,the network server is configured to be used as a device managementpoint. In another embodiment, the network server includes a PUSH/PULLapplication programming interface (API) such that the network server maybe used to move data to the final application server.

In another embodiment, the network server is configured to be compatiblewith firmware on the SiP cellular assembly 100. In another embodiment,the firmware is configured to support messaging via web transfer. Forexample, the firmware may be configured to support messaging via aconstrained application protocol (CoAP). The CoAP may be configured tointegrate with concise binary object representation (CBOR), or any dataformat known in the art. In another embodiment, the firmware isconfigured to receive over-the-air programming (OTA) updates.

In another embodiment, the main board 102 includes one or morelight-emitting diodes (LEDs) 140. The one or more LEDs may be configuredto indicate one or more connectivity statuses. For example, the one ormore LEDs may be configured to indicate cell tower connection, internetconnection, and the like. The one or more LEDs may be further configuredto indicate other characteristics of the SiP assembly 100 such as, butnot limited to, power, signal strength, transmission and reception ofdata, or the like. It is noted herein that the one or more LEDs may beconfigured to blink based on the one or more statuses or othercharacteristics. Further, it is noted herein that the one or more LEDsmay be configured to illuminate based on the one or more statuses orother characteristics.

It is noted herein that the main board 102 may have any dimensions. Forexample, the main board may have a length between 25-35 mm. Forinstance, the main board may have a length of 33 mm. By way of anotherexample, the main board may have a width between 20-30 mm. For instance,the main board may have a width of 25 mm. Further, it is noted hereinthat the small size of the main board allows for the SiP assembly 100 tobe utilized in a wide array of end-products.

Referring again to FIGS. 1-5 , in one embodiment, the add-on board 104is reversibly, electrically couplable to the main board 102 via one ormore surface mount connectors 134, 136. For example, the main board 102may include one or more main board surface mount connectors 134 and theadd-on board 104 may include one or more add-on board surface mountconnectors 136. In this regard, a portion of the one or more surfacemount connectors 134 (e.g., one or more pins of the surface mountconnector 134) may be configured to couple to a portion of the one ormore add-on board surface mount connectors 136 (e.g., one or more pinsof the surface mount connector 136), such that when pressed together,the add-on board 104 is reversibly, electrically coupled to the mainboard 102.

In another embodiment, the add-board 104 is detachably connectable tothe main board 102 via one or more connectors 138. For example, the mainboard 102 may include one or more soldered nuts 124 configured to coupleto one or more through holes 122. In this regard, the one or moresoldered nuts 124 may be configured to receive one or more connectors138, such that the add-on board 104 may be detachably connected to themain board 102. The one or more connectors 138 may be any connectorknown in the art. For example, the one or more connectors 138 mayinclude, but are not required to include, one or more bolts, one or morescrews, or the like.

In another embodiment, the add-on board 104 includes one or morecoupling assemblies. The one or more coupling assemblies may include oneor more add-on board through holes 132 configured to receive the one ormore connectors 138. For example, the one or more add-on board throughholes 132 and the one or more soldered nuts 124 may be configured toreceive the one or more connectors 138, such that the add-on board 104is detachably coupled to the main board.

In another embodiment, at least one of the add-on board 104 or the mainboard 102 includes a power entry module (PEM) configured to couple toone or more fasteners (e.g., screws or the like). For example, theadd-on board 104 may include a PEM including threads configured tocouple to the one or more fasteners such that the add-on board 104 andthe main board 102 may be reversibly electrically coupled. By way ofanother example, the main board 102 may include a PEM including threadsconfigured to couple to the one or more fasteners such that the mainboard 102 and the add-on board 104 may be reversibly electricallycoupled. By way of another example, the main board 102 and the add-onboard 104 include one or more PEMs.

In another embodiment, the SiP cellular assembly 100 includes softwareto support the add-on board 104. For example, the network server of theSiP device 120 may be running on amazon web services (AWS) andconfigured to support the add-on board 104. For instance, the AWS may beconfigured to support the customizable add-on board 104 in order tosupport the end-product.

In another embodiment, an interface between the main board 102 and theadd-on board 104 is configurable to provide one or more individualconnections including one or more functions (e.g., UART, SPI, I2C, ADC,GPIO, LVDS, custom protocols, or the like).

FIGS. 9-10 illustrate the add-on aboard 104 of the SiP cellular assembly100, in accordance with one or more embodiments of the presentdisclosure. In particular, FIG. 9 illustrates a top perspective view ofthe add-on board 104 of the SiP cellular assembly 100, in accordancewith one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. In particular,FIG. 10 illustrates a bottom view of the add-on board 104 of the SiPcellular assembly 100, in accordance with one or more embodiments of thepresent disclosure.

In one embodiment, as shown in FIG. 10 , the add-on board 104 includesone or more sensors 126. The one or more sensors 126 may include anysensor known in the art. For example, the one or more sensors 126 mayinclude a temperature sensor (e.g., thermometer, thermocouple, or thelike), an acceleration sensor (e.g., accelerometer or the like), ahumidity sensor (e.g., a hygrometer or the like), or the like. Forinstance, as shown in FIG. 10 , the add-on board may include atemperature/humidity sensor 126 a and an accelerometer 126 b. It isnoted herein the add-on board 104 may be customizable such that a usermay customize the one or more sensors 126 such that the add-on board 104fits the user's needs. Further, it is noted herein the sensorconfiguration (e.g., location, number, or the like) shown in FIG. 10 isprovided merely for illustrative purposes and shall not limit the scopeof the present disclosure.

In another embodiment, the add-on board 104 includes one or more add-onboard through holes 128 (e.g., one or more outputs). The one or morethrough holes 128 (e.g., one or more outputs) may be configured to allowfor prototyping of additional one or more sensors (not shown). Inanother embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 8-9 , the one or more throughholes 128 (e.g., the one or more outputs) are plated with one or moreelectrically conductive materials, such as, but not limited to, a metal(e.g., copper). It is noted herein that although FIGS. 9-10 depicts 8through holes 128, such depiction is provided merely for illustrativepurposes and shall not be a limitation on the present disclosure.Further, it is noted here that although FIGS. 9-10 depict the throughholes 128 as plated through holes, such depiction is provided merely forillustrative purposes and shall not limit the scope of the presentdisclosure. For example, the one or more through holes 128 may beun-plated.

In another embodiment, the main board 102 is configured to receivecommands from the network server to control the one or more sensors 126on the add-on board 104. In another embodiment, the main board 102 isconfigured to periodically or pragmatically read the one or more sensors126 on the add-on board 104 and send received data to the networkserver.

In another embodiment, the add-on board 104 includes a battery connector130 arranged on a bottom side of the add-on board 104. In anotherembodiment, the add-on board 104 is configured to reversiblyelectrically couple to at least one of the main board 102 or theend-product. For example, the battery connector 130 may be configured toelectrically couple to the battery (or power source) of an end-product(not shown). By way of another example, the battery connector 130 may beconfigured to electrically couple to the battery of the SiP device 120.In another embodiment, the battery connector 130 is configured toelectrically couple to the end-product, such that that battery connector130 is configured to provide power to at least one of the main board102, the add-on board 104, or the end-product.

It is noted herein that the add-on board 104 may have any dimension. Forexample, the add-on board 104 may have a length between 15-20 mm. Forinstance, the add-on board 104 may have a length of 17 mm. By way ofanother example, the add-on board 104 may have a width between 20-30 mm.For instance, the add-on board may have a width of 25 mm.

Further, it is noted herein that one or more components of the mainboard 102 and/or the add-on board 104 may be mounted to the main board102 and/or the add-on board 104 using any fabrication mechanism known inthe art. For example, the one or more components (e.g., SiP device, SIMcard slot, eSIM card, power regulation, battery connector, antenna, orthe like) may be coupled to the main board and/or the add-on board usingan electrically conductive adhesive (e.g., epoxy), connector sealing,corner bonding, thermally conductive adhesive (e.g., epoxy),non-conductive die attach (e.g., surface mount device die attach),conductive die attach, conformal coating, or the like.

It is noted herein that the SiP cellular assembly 100 may include aplurality of add-on boards 104 to provide a plurality of functions. Forexample, an additional add-on board may be electrically coupled to theadd-on board 104 (which is coupled to the main board 102) by couplingone or more additional connectors to the one or more through holes 132.

One skilled in the art will recognize that the herein describedcomponents (e.g., operations), devices, objects, and the discussionaccompanying them are used as examples for the sake of conceptualclarity and that various configuration modifications are contemplated.Consequently, as used herein, the specific exemplars set forth and theaccompanying discussion are intended to be representative of their moregeneral classes. In general, use of any specific exemplar is intended tobe representative of its class, and the non-inclusion of specificcomponents (e.g., operations), devices, and objects should not be takenas limiting.

Those having skill in the art will appreciate that there are variousvehicles by which processes and/or systems and/or other technologiesdescribed herein can be effected (e.g., hardware, software, and/orfirmware), and that the preferred vehicle will vary with the context inwhich the processes and/or systems and/or other technologies aredeployed. For example, if an implementer determines that speed andaccuracy are paramount, the implementer may opt for a mainly hardwareand/or firmware vehicle; alternatively, if flexibility is paramount, theimplementer may opt for a mainly software implementation; or, yet againalternatively, the implementer may opt for some combination of hardware,software, and/or firmware. Hence, there are several possible vehicles bywhich the processes and/or devices and/or other technologies describedherein may be effected, none of which is inherently superior to theother in that any vehicle to be utilized is a choice dependent upon thecontext in which the vehicle will be deployed and the specific concerns(e.g., speed, flexibility, or predictability) of the implementer, any ofwhich may vary.

The previous description is presented to enable one of ordinary skill inthe art to make and use the invention as provided in the context of aparticular application and its requirements. As used herein, directionalterms such as “top,” “bottom,” “over,” “under,” “upper,” “upward,”“lower,” “down,” and “downward” are intended to provide relativepositions for purposes of description, and are not intended to designatean absolute frame of reference. Various modifications to the describedembodiments will be apparent to those with skill in the art, and thegeneral principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments.Therefore, the present invention is not intended to be limited to theparticular embodiments shown and described, but is to be accorded thewidest scope consistent with the principles and novel features hereindisclosed.

With respect to the use of substantially any plural and/or singularterms herein, those having skill in the art can translate from theplural to the singular and/or from the singular to the plural as isappropriate to the context and/or application. The varioussingular/plural permutations are not expressly set forth herein for sakeof clarity.

The herein described subject matter sometimes illustrates differentcomponents contained within, or connected with, other components. It isto be understood that such depicted architectures are merely exemplary,and that in fact many other architectures can be implemented whichachieve the same functionality. In a conceptual sense, any arrangementof components to achieve the same functionality is effectively“associated” such that the desired functionality is achieved. Hence, anytwo components herein combined to achieve a particular functionality canbe seen as “associated with” each other such that the desiredfunctionality is achieved, irrespective of architectures or intermedialcomponents. Likewise, any two components so associated can also beviewed as being “connected,” or “coupled,” to each other to achieve thedesired functionality, and any two components capable of being soassociated can also be viewed as being “couplable,” to each other toachieve the desired functionality. Specific examples of couplableinclude but are not limited to physically mateable and/or physicallyinteracting components and/or wirelessly interactable and/or wirelesslyinteracting components and/or logically interacting and/or logicallyinteractable components.

Furthermore, it is to be understood that the invention is defined by theappended claims. It will be understood by those within the art that, ingeneral, terms used herein, and especially in the appended claims (e.g.,bodies of the appended claims) are generally intended as “open” terms(e.g., the term “including” should be interpreted as “including but notlimited to,” the term “having” should be interpreted as “having atleast,” the term “includes” should be interpreted as “includes but isnot limited to,” and the like). It will be further understood by thosewithin the art that if a specific number of an introduced claimrecitation is intended, such an intent will be explicitly recited in theclaim, and in the absence of such recitation no such intent is present.For example, as an aid to understanding, the following appended claimsmay contain usage of the introductory phrases “at least one” and “one ormore” to introduce claim recitations. However, the use of such phrasesshould not be construed to imply that the introduction of a claimrecitation by the indefinite articles “a” or “an” limits any particularclaim containing such introduced claim recitation to inventionscontaining only one such recitation, even when the same claim includesthe introductory phrases “one or more” or “at least one” and indefinitearticles such as “a” or “an” (e.g., “a” and/or “an” should typically beinterpreted to mean “at least one” or “one or more”); the same holdstrue for the use of definite articles used to introduce claimrecitations. In addition, even if a specific number of an introducedclaim recitation is explicitly recited, those skilled in the art willrecognize that such recitation should typically be interpreted to meanat least the recited number (e.g., the bare recitation of “tworecitations,” without other modifiers, typically means at least tworecitations, or two or more recitations). Furthermore, in thoseinstances where a convention analogous to “at least one of A, B, and C,and the like” is used, in general such a construction is intended in thesense one having skill in the art would understand the convention (e.g.,“a system having at least one of A, B, and C” would include but not belimited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and Btogether, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and Ctogether, and the like). In those instances where a convention analogousto “at least one of A, B, or C, and the like” is used, in general such aconstruction is intended in the sense one having skill in the art wouldunderstand the convention (e.g., “a system having at least one of A, B,or C” would include but not be limited to systems that have A alone, Balone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together,and/or A, B, and C together, and the like). It will be furtherunderstood by those within the art that virtually any disjunctive wordand/or phrase presenting two or more alternative terms, whether in thedescription, claims, or drawings, should be understood to contemplatethe possibilities of including one of the terms, either of the terms, orboth terms. For example, the phrase “A or B” will be understood toinclude the possibilities of “A” or “B” or “A and B.”

It is believed that the present disclosure and many of its attendantadvantages will be understood by the foregoing description, and it willbe apparent that various changes may be made in the form, constructionand arrangement of the components without departing from the disclosedsubject matter or without sacrificing all of its material advantages.The form described is merely explanatory, and it is the intention of thefollowing claims to encompass and include such changes. Furthermore, itis to be understood that the invention is defined by the appendedclaims.

What is claimed:
 1. A main board assembly, comprising: a multi-layerprinted circuit board; one or more through holes, wherein the one ormore through holes are configured to receive one or more end-productconnecting members; a system-in-package device configured to provideconnectivity for an end-product, the system-in-package device includinga modem, the system-in-package device including a microcontroller unitincluding one or more processors and a network server, the one or moreprocessors of the system-in-package device configured to communicatewith the end-product to provide processing for the end-product, thenetwork server including an application programming interface configuredto support an add-on board: one or more soldered nuts; and one or moresurface mount connectors.
 2. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the one ormore surface mount connectors are coupled to one or more add-on boardconnectors of the add-on board.
 3. The assembly of claim 1, wherein theone or more soldered nuts are coupled to one or more connectors of theadd-on board.
 4. The assembly of claim 1, further comprising: one ormore cellular antenna ports.
 5. The assembly of claim 1, furthercomprising: one or more location antenna ports.
 6. The assembly of claim1, further comprising: one or more subscriber identification module(SIM) card slots configured to receive one or more SIM cards, the one ormore processors of the system-in-package device configured tocommunicate with the one or more SIM cards.
 7. The assembly of claim 1,further comprising: one or more embedded SIM cards, the one or moreprocessors of the system-in-package device configured to communicatewith the one or more embedded SIM cards.
 8. The assembly of claim 1,further comprising: one or more power regulation devices.
 9. Theassembly of claim 1, further comprising: one or more light-emittingdiodes.
 10. An add-on board assembly, comprising: one or more couplingassemblies; one or more surface mount connectors coupled to a first sideof the add-on board assembly; at least one of one or more sensorscoupled to a second side of the add-on board assembly or one or moresensor through holes configured to couple to one or more additionalsensors, the one or more sensors and the additional one or more sensorsconfigured to provide sensor data to an end-product by providing thesensor data to a network server of a main board: and one or more batteryconnectors coupled to the second side of the add-on board assembly;wherein the one or more coupling assemblies include one or more throughholes and one or more connectors, wherein the one or more through holesare configured to receive the one or more connectors and wherein the oneor more connectors are coupled to one or more soldered nuts of the mainboard.
 11. The assembly of claim 10, wherein the one or more surfacemount connectors are coupled to one or more main board surface mountconnectors of the main board.